How to Choose Shades of White Paint
09/26/2008 12:56 PM by Gretchen Schauffler
Here are some Devine Tips on Choosing White, Off-White and Shades of White Paint:
Light is a prism of the 7 colors of the rainbow. When light hits surfaces, the seven colors are absorbed or reflect. Whatever colors get bounced off the surface, those are the colors your eyes see. Your eyes are equipped to see a wide spectrum of absorption and reflection in thousands of variations. Some colors are easier to see than others. White is what you get when light reflects so strongly there is no absorption and all the colors bounce back—so all shades of white paint includes all the colors of the rainbow.
I designed Devine Color white shades of paint to mimic natural light reflections found in nature and in art. Artists use pure white (or titanium white) paint as the base to blend the right kind of white shade for color composition. That is what I’ve tried to do with our white paint. Here is a great analogy: I designed our whites as perfect tooth colors for different types of skin colors! Everyone knows when someone’s teeth are too white, too yellow, or too gray. So think of Devine Color ‘whites’ as the perfect tooth enamel shades for the face that is your furniture, art, and accessories.
Your canvas—in this case, your home—already has color! It has hardwood floors, wood furniture with orange, red, and purple tones, fireplaces with red, tan, or orange brick, slate or vinyl floors with blues, greens, browns, and then various fabrics, art, photos and so on. So choose the right white or off white paint colors from our already tried and true Devine shades of white to complement your belongings .
Devine Pique: our purest white is the most stark, striking titanium white. I recommend it to create high contrast like with trim, cabinets, or shelve color. Warning: Using it as a wall color could overpower everything else and make other shades of white in the room look dull. If you have lots of black, primary colors, dark chocolates, deep purples, cool grays, this white is the perfect contrast.
Devine Icing: Our clean white is the overall unifying white. I recommend this white paint for walls and/or trim. It has the right amount of warmth and will not look over-bleached against natural surfaces and wood. It is a natural fit with all other whites found in furniture, fabrics, and accessories.
Devine Whip: Our warm white is a soft white that perfectly complements the warmth of wood with a hint of cream. I recommend this white if you have lots of wood in your home along with lots of warm colors such as yellows, oranges, warm reds, and denim blues. Looks great as both wall and trim paint color.
Devine Vanilla: Our icy hot white has a hint of yellow that makes it crisp. I recommend this white for trim to go with bright greens, lime yellows, and bright yellows.
I would order Mini-Paint Pouches of Icing and Pique’ and test both of them in your home.
As far as the cost, we put our money where our mouth is. Our paint gives you a tremendous bang for your buck. It goes on with one coat in most cases. But the really great thing is that the one coat is strong and beautiful. Priced accordingly with other high quality premium paints, think of Devine as a high-tread count sheet—solid, rich color that lasts forever on your wall.
Our paint has unique paint sheens in the market for a reason. We believe that light is color and we created paint finishes to reflect our white paint colors perfectly. No other paint line was created this way. See our blog article HOW LIGHT CHANGES COLOR. This is where you can decide what paint finish you want on your wall.
As far as a trim finish, IF YOU CAN WAIT FOR OUR NEW SMOOTH GLOSS TRIM FINISH, YOU SHOULD! It is low VOC and it brushes, rolls, and sprays on like glass! It is the first water-based product that behaves as beautifully as oil paint and it comes out this October.
READ: ADDING WHITE TO LIGHTEN A COLOR
| Textile Help | ||
How to Use Neutral Paint Colors
Adding White to Lighten a Color
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want a nice red with white ceiling and white ceiling beams and one wall with stairway and dark stained pecky cyprus wall.don’t want a burgandy brown red as sugested, idea?
— diane parish 10/08/2008 07:50 PM #
Diane:
Try Devine Bon Vivant™, Devine Saffron™ and devinegreen: Toucan™. Our truer reds are red without screaming bloody murder, fire engine coming, or STOP! Every Devine color sinks into walls instead of looking like a coat on the surface because of our paint finishes. This will help you welcome your perfect red to the party!
— gretchen Schauffler 10/09/2008 09:50 AM #
What color white should be used for beadboard in a bathroom that has mostly white porcelin tile, but bright white sink? The paint will be Juniper. Do you now have the new glossy paint? Thanks.
— Nancy 11/12/2008 12:32 PM #
Hi Nancy:
It was a pleasure to talk to you yesterday about your white dilemma. Remember, whites do blend well as long as you do not mix gray whites with yellow whites. In your case Devine Icing is the perfect “white” to landscape all the others in the room. Remember, the white in the sink is there to look clean, functional but not natural. As trim or wall color, it would look like a blinding smile, the kind you think…ooops, went too far with the bleaching! lol.
— gretchen Schauffler 11/13/2008 11:14 AM #
Hi,I am looking for white with a hint of red to match white with hint of spearmint – could you let me know if these colours would (a) bright a room. (b)and would they match with dark wood fire place & light varnished floor? thanks for your help. Also could you advise me where I could purchase these “hints of colours paints”.
— VALERIE 11/21/2008 09:17 AM #
Valerie:
A white with a hint of red is pink. If you lighten red, it’s not a light red, but a shade of pink. Pink could be “fleshy”. I recommend Devine Whip or Icing as your white with hints of yellow like in your “wood”. DId you get to read How to lighten a dark room with light colors?
You can connect to our E-store and order the color tools and paint online or find a Devine Color stockist in your area.
— gretchen Schauffler 11/21/2008 02:35 PM #
Hi! I have many dark colors in different rooms. I have white woodwork, white crown molding…. I am thinking of painting the entry, hallway, and stairwell white but the painter doesn’t like this idea. He is recommending color because I have so much of it elsewhere. I like the idea of a white entry, but I may “lose” the crown molding. Any suggestions?
— Monica Murphy 12/02/2008 06:03 PM #
Monica:
Great wall color palettes can be achieved with different color proportions and different color combinations…the question is how much “white” do you have in your other rooms to justify the white entry? Will the white entry announce the rest of all the colors in the home? We have the perfect whites, but is white the perfect color in the entry because of all the white through out the home? Let me know :)
— gretchen Schauffler 12/03/2008 01:17 PM #
I love Devine Paints. My last house was painted entirely with Devine. I have now since moved into a condo and am slowly repainting all the generic white walls. My living/dining/kitchen room has two walls painted in Roast and the other two walls are in Medallion. The bathroom is Toucan and (per your suggestion) I painted the ceiling Persian. It is so rich and yummy. Now I am on to the laundry room (off the kitchen). Since the water heater and washer/dryer are in place I have to leave one wall the contractor’s off white. What would you suggest to paint the other three walls. One of the three walls is visible from the kitchen. I always leave the laundry room door open so I want to make this room as nice as possible. The walls surrounding the laundry room door are in medallion.
Thanks for your help.
— DJ 12/29/2008 11:32 AM #
Hi DJ:
Since the laundry room door is always open, do the 3 walls in Medallion and make the kitchen space visual “bigger” by making the laundry room look like an extra “appliance room”. It is a great way to connect 2 high function working spaces…Jazz it up with prints and you’re good to go. If you want, you can also try doing Devine Roast. Send us pictures!!
— gretchen Schauffler 12/29/2008 03:12 PM #
Working with a dining room that i am converting to a parlor. The furniture is darkish brown wood, 2 brick red leather chairs and matching small ottamans, and a dark brown leather-velvet-like love seat. My pictures have antique large gold frames and dark brown wood frames. Looking for a color that will warm up the room, keep it open feeling, and a color that I can put on the living room that is adjacent. The living room contains sage green and dark brown furniture and area rug. There also is a coffee table that is sort of a light mustard yellow color. Its an older house so I will also need another color for all the window and baseboard and doorway moldings. Was thinking of matching the ceiling color to the molding color.
I will most likely add an area rug to the parlor that will have the brick red/brown/and gold coloring in it to help the room out as i have a very light beige carpet.
Thank you so much for your help.
Jessica
— Jessica 01/05/2009 08:51 PM #
Jessica:
Read How to Match Colors From a Rug. It will be very helpful. With the colors you have, greens like Devine Hazelnut, Olive, Fescue, or devinegreen: Mantis can look beatiful. You can also move the rainbow towards yellow and play with colors like Devine Maple, Peanut, or Ale. See devinegreen: Chicken or Poppy also. To coordinate trim take a look at combinations of the above. Devine Olive on the walls with Devine Hazelnut trim for example, then toss the Hazelnut on the ceiling…take a look at it in reverse…yuhmm. I recommend Powder on the walls and ceilings all the way. Check out the blog article How to Choose Sheens for Your Project and you’ll see why! Send us pictures please!!!
— gretchen Schauffler 01/06/2009 09:47 AM #
Gretchen,
thank you for the earlier reply. I went ahead and sampled hazelnut on the dining room (now parlor) walls and the olive for the trim. I think i am sold on the hazelnut for the walls, but the olive on the trim seems to almost blend into the walls. You had also mentioned painting the ceiling olive as well. I am feeling as though I might close in the room with such similar colors on the walls, trim and ceiling and would like the trim to possibly stand out a bit more than it does in my trial. I also put a sample of the Ale on the adjacent living room walls and think that I really like that. I was wondering about any other possible ideas to tie together the hazelnut walls of the dining room and the Ale walls of the living room. I would like to keep the trim the same color in both rooms to keep a good flow. Also would like to keep both ceilings the same color. I am not opposed to the ceilings being a 3rd color or being the same color as the trim. Thank you again.Jessica
— Jessica 01/07/2009 10:22 PM #
Gretchen: Thanks for your help with sloped ceilings! You encouraged me to chose color for the walls/ceilings and I am int he process of chosing the stunning color. I have another question I would love your input on. I am painting our floors which are currently painted concrete. Does your paint work on floors, if so, which finish would you recommend. I am drawn to a dark floor (like an espresso color) to contrast cream walls, do you have any tips?
— maria Jose Marty-McAuliff 01/07/2009 11:28 PM #
Gretchen,
I woke up and re-evaluated my sample of the hazelnut walls/olive trim in the parlor, and maybe the subtle difference between the 2 is nice, instead of an obvious difference between trim and walls. Also the ale walls with olive trim in the adjacent dining room is a different potential that I think might be ok. What are your thoughts on that combonation. I had a Peanut paper/card sample and was wondering about the possibility of that on both ceilings to keep the rooms a bit more open versus painting them the olive. I am loving the color selections you have….just overwhelmed by the possibilities :)Jessica
— Jessica 01/08/2009 09:38 AM #
Jessica:
I am loving the the Devine Peanut on the ceilings with the Devine Hazelnut in Powder…yuhmmm. we can all relate, you are not the only one who wakes up at night with color on their mind..lol You have awesome possibilities!
— gretchen Schauffler 01/08/2009 11:09 AM #
Maria:
So happy I could show you how sloped ceilings can make for a great colorful space! Unfortunately, we do not have floor paint but once you choose your Devine Color for your walls, I can certainly give you a range of color you may want to explore!
— gretchen Schauffler 01/08/2009 11:21 AM #
We are renovating our bathroom. We have a gray
bathtub, toilet and sink and countertop. We currently have a flowered
barkertile that has yellowed and were wondering if you can paint over this. We also put pine wainscoating 32
inches up from the floor.
I was wondering if you have any suggestions on what paint color we could
do the barkertile(keeping
the gray in mind.
— Nora Fancy 01/15/2009 02:49 PM #
Nora:
Here is the website for Barker Tile. You can research the best way to paint or restore the tile to it’s original color. Blues will look beautiful with the gray surfaces and the golden pine. Depending on the “gray” color, try Devine Almond, Spray, Pool, Tide, devinegreen: Shark or Beluga. This is not to say you couldn’t go with beautiful earthy reds like Devine Blush, Ginger, Dust, or devinegreen: Orangutan. Let me know which direction you like best! Take a look at our articles. They show lots of pictures that illustrate that the right color makes all surfaces, old and new, look like they are meant to be! The joy of color.
— gretchen Schauffler 01/17/2009 12:59 PM #
Gretchen, I am still not sure which white to choose for our home trim/doors/wainscotting. We remodeled a bathroom and changed some trim. Our trim now is oil based and it has discolored in places throughout the house. I am holding out for your new trim paint that is hopefully coming out soon. Can you please describe Devinegreen Ewe? and How does it compare to Devine Whip and Devine Icing? I noticed that when Devine Icing was made up in your current trim paint that it looked whiter and lighter, I’m just wondering what Devine Whip and Devinegreen Ewe would look like in the trim paint. Will the new trim paint be as glossy or less glossy than your current trim paint? I am looking to come close to matching our homes trim now, with the thought that it will all need re-painting some time. Thanks so much, Lisa
— Lisa 01/28/2009 11:56 PM #
Lisa:
Thanks for asking questions that allow me to go a little deeper into color. Paint finishes (or sheens) change the way colors look. The more light reflects from a color, the more the color becomes “highlighted” or lighter. Our new trim paint will be a beautiful water-based gloss that will have a strong highlight and make colors brighter, specially whites. I wanted the new product to mimic the smooth sheen of “oil” paint. Devine Ewe is similar to Devine Whip. I created it as an overall warm white for the flora-fauna color collection. When you look at devinegreen: Ewe, Devine Icing, and Whip, don’t compare them to each other, compare them to the things that are going to matter—the things that the white trim is meant to feature, and accent.. Look at them next to wood color, stone, granite, and “non-negotiable” color surfaces in you home. Ask yourself: what’s the right “tooth color” white for all the other colors? You don’t want it too “bleached” or too “yellow”. We hope to come out with our new trim paint in the next couple of months—it’s in the final stage of testing!
— gretchen Schauffler 01/30/2009 09:17 AM #
Hi Gretchen,
I am painting my bedroom Skyline. Could you recommend a specific the Devine white for the trim/doors in that room? I don’t have a good eye for color.
Thanks much.
Ellen
— Ellen Miller 02/10/2009 03:48 PM #
Ellen:
With Devine Skyline I would do Devine Icing. It will look fresh and sparkling! You do have a good eye, you chose Devine Skyline :)--a stunning color :)
— gretchen Schauffler 02/13/2009 01:00 PM #
Hi Gretchen, I live in Carmel, CA., in a 1920’s redwood single wall cottage. Inside walls of course are the redwood color, just pulled up grungy carpet to reveal the original floor. Want to paint them white, what shade would you recommend? Mollie
— mollie 02/16/2009 12:47 PM #
Mollie:
With all that beautiful warm wood try Devine Whip—a creamy look with all the red tones in your redwood…yum
— gretchen Schauffler 02/16/2009 06:06 PM #
The wood in my house has a lot of orange in it that I want to tone down. My husband has agreed to paint the wood trim in white, but not the doors (sigh). Which white should I use on the trim to tone down the orange in the wooden doors?
— Jenny 06/22/2009 08:11 AM #
Jenny:
Try Devine Whip…you are going to love what it does for golden/orange woody tones :)
— gretchen Schauffler 06/22/2009 03:33 PM #
I have a small bathroom with light grey/blue tiles and porcelain pedestal and toilet with rubbed nickel fixtures. The floor tiles are a combination light grey and cream. Since I have both warm and cool colors going, what color should I paint the bathroom walls?
Thank you
— Cheryl Cook 06/26/2009 10:29 AM #
Cheryl the sky is the limit! We have warm and cool colors that create so many combinations! You can make the bathroom pop with a red color like Devine Cayenne, or make it cool with Devine Buffalo. The questions is what do you love? I can suggest tons of great color combinations but its a little like taking a stab in the dark. I rather you try our approach and see what combinations appear before your eyes and then I can make suggestions based on your narrowed selections!
The question is which direction to go. Get our Trend-Proof Palette, follow our PROCESS, and then narrow down choices. Remeber, you can always “match a color in the bathroom tile for the walls, but our palette and process allow you to create ideas you never dreamed of!— gretchen Schauffler 06/26/2009 04:13 PM #
I need some help matching the color of my new sofa and chairs with wall color and curtain color….please help
— cindy Lindsey 09/07/2009 11:45 AM #
Cindy:
Sounds to me like you need to coordinate (not match) not only one thing, but everything in the room. You want to have color harmony with out monotony and/or contrast with out conflict. To insure this get the Trend-Proof Collection and follow our Process ASAP. I tell people all the time we have a philosophy that arms you with the information you need to take amazing & fantastic risks with color that turn out beautiful every time.
This is why we so different than any other paint line.
When you go through our Process with the Trend-Proof Color Collection:
1-You will be able to see a TOTAL overview of Devine paint colors like a road map…
2-You will work with these colors at home, among your things, in your space, and see how they ALL interact with each other and other colors…in your natural surfaces, wood stains, fabrics, and accessories and others wont.
3- You will be able to IMAGINE great combinations as they appear before your eyes.
Once you see how many possibilities there are to fall in love with, I can help narrow down your choices or ideas. So many Devine Colors…so many great possibilities :) You can create fantastic ambiance with interior lighting, rich wall colors, and the right paint sheen….Don’t forget our sheens make the color harmonize with your fabrics and surface sheens. See SHEENS
I will help you narrow down the choices once you can see where you can go!!!! If you need further assistance, we have Virtual Colorization’s for rooms. We take over and give you visual advice.
Either way, we are here to HELP! But first, empower yourself with Devine Color’s smart Trend-proof Paint Palette and go through our wise process.
— Gretchen Schauffler 09/08/2009 01:17 PM #
I painted a small nook adjacent to my living room Filbert, with Whip trim and Icing ceiling. Filbert will be too dark for the rest of the area. I have lots of wood with orange tones, and furniture and art with jewel tones in the living room. What would you suggest for the wall paint in the living room?
— Kay 09/27/2009 08:40 PM #
Kay:
Don’t be too afraid of Devine Filbert. With lots of windows, jewel tones, and wood tones, ask yourself if a rich color like Filbert may support all the other colors better than a lighter color that makes the walls float away. You can use Devine Siamese, and Muslin as lighter versions of Filbert. See the latest article on Accent Colors.
— Gretchen Schauffler 09/30/2009 05:36 PM #
When you are painting inside closets, do u paint them the color of the room,I am redoing all my closets, want to give them a nice clean look, Thanks
— Kris Schumacher 10/17/2009 10:45 PM #
Kris:
I love the inside of closets to be crispy white with Devine Icing. I also have recommended black, such as Piping and Leather because these create incredible contrast and make clothes “POP” against the black. If you are highly consistent about the colors you wear, nothing wrong with coordinating the perfect background either. Say you wear lots of bright florals: why not have a bright yellow closet?...It could be an amazing statement.
— Gretchen Schauffler 10/18/2009 08:26 PM #
what colour should i put on the walls in my north facing kitchen. My units are cream, the worktops grey and the wall tiles are various shades of grey from a Bluey grey to grey white. the floor mimicks a lakeland slate. The doors and skirting boards are white gloss. We have tried Bright Yellow, soft green and blossom white and none of these do anything to enhance the units. Please help.
— pamela morgan 12/26/2009 02:38 AM #
Pamela:
Our color palettes make it so you can put together color combinations that will make your kitchen personal…just the way you would want it to be! The question is which direction to go. You are going to have to trust me :-)... lets infuse that kitchen with much needed warmth…Try colors like Devine Blush, Ginger, Dust, Filbert, Storm, Denim, Pecan, or Mocha. Get our Trend-Proof Palette, follow our PROCESS, and then narrow down choices. The context of this color collection is that all the colors coordinate the past, present, and future of color trends. If you have a sofa from the 90’s with 200 year-old rug and a 2 week old kitchen remodel, you will find not just one color but all the colors that can coordinate everything and make it look “meant to be”. The average Devine Color home has anywhere from 7-12 colors. All our color collections are finger-painted you so you can see the real color and how that color looks next to each other. It makes you smarter!
— Gretchen Schauffler 12/28/2009 10:36 AM #
I just bought metallic red washer & dryer, cabinents are classic winter (soft baige). What color do I paint the walls?
— Argelia 01/02/2010 08:47 AM #
Argelia:
With that muck color, go for chic neutrals like Devine Mocha, Bison, Elephant, or Impala. If you want more color, see how you feel about Devine Manzanita, Cypress, Fescue, or Almond? See Maple, Peanut, or Straw..the possibilities are endless…laundry in your home just got a lot more fun!
— Gretchen Schauffler 01/04/2010 03:30 PM #
Some time ago I read an article on painting with white alone,3 different shades to promote depth and accent.It was brilliant and I wish I had saved it.Can anyone help me out?PLEASE!
— Bob 01/07/2010 09:51 AM #
Bob:
Uhm…here are my 2cents on the subject…
Your eyes (our eyes) are sharp enough to see three different shades of “white socks”, or teeth, next to each other, or in front of us. The “whitest white” in the bunch can make the other white socks, or teeth look “dirty”. If you want to use three of our whites, our white paint colors are not gray or pink to avoid this from happening.
But…spread three different shades of white over large, large, white walls and your eyes (especially your peripheral vision) will not really be able to detect the differences between them because of how much light reflects back from the large surfaces. The white walls will look more like there are shadowed, (they will naturally look like it) not deep or accented. Throw in furniture in front of the walls and the eyes can only focus on so much. Think of how much lipstick, changes the way white teeth look….or a suit and tie change a white shirt.
However, if you do stripes, or a pattern that scales down the white combination on a large wall, your eyes will really enjoy the beautiful subtleties of white instead of straining to detect a nuance…
Let me know if you find the article. I would love to read it.
— Gretchen Schauffler 01/09/2010 11:04 AM #
what sould i paint my walls if i have cream hardwood floors? thank you so much 4 ur time
— svetlana 02/01/2010 09:57 PM #
My new Sectional is a JuniperMocha color,what color can i do my walls,thank you ,I have one week.
— Diana 03/03/2010 04:34 PM #
Diana:
Juniper/Mocha as in Devine Juniper and Devine Mocha or is that a fabric name? One week to paint, or to choose color? Sorry, I need clarification—you understand! Devine Color has sooo many great colors, all meant to look great together and make your stuff great, it’s hard to guess. Until I get clarification, and if it’s not too late, get our Trend-Proof Color Collection. When you go through our PROCESS, with our Trend-Proof Color Collection at home, you work with all the colors “at home”, and can follow them like a roadmap. Seeing the entire Trend-proof Color Collection among your own things, in your space, and interacting with each other will allow you to see colors that are perfect with your natural surfaces, such as wood stains, granite, fabrics, and art. The Process guides you there. You will understand how many color combinations are possible and pick the direction you love the most. I can then help you narrow down the many great choices you have at your finger tips. If you need further assistance, (SO WORTH IT!) we have Virtual Colorization’s. We take over and give you visual color advice (See examples). Either way, we are here to HELP!
— Gretchen Schauffler 03/05/2010 02:10 PM #